Do you have collection agencies calling you night and day? Want to beat them at their own game legally? Now you can turn the tables on those nasty collection agencies.

Steps

Make an offer they cannot refuse

1

Know that you do not have to talk to them. Think of those nasty collection agencies as little barking dogs: noisy and nothing to be afraid of. The reason they are calling is to get money out of you the debtor because it is unsecured. That is there is no collateral behind the debt unlike a car loan or a mortgage. Remember that when a collection agency calls and gets 'tough' on you.

2

If you do pick up the phone and talk to the collections agent, deny all knowledge of that debt. The Statute of Limitations is 2 years from the day the account is found to be uncollectable. If you admit to having the debt the clock is reset.

3

Change your phone number. This will buy you about 4 months of peace and quiet before they find the new number. On your voice message greeting make it very generic.

4

Wait about 6 to 7 months before even thinking about negotiating with them. During this time period the collection agency has been calling and not received one red cent. This is good news for you the debtor because now it is costing them more time and resources to collect.

Keep it going. After 6 or 7 months it is become clear to the collection agency that it is becoming increasingly difficult to collect. When you do negotiate at the 6 or 7 month period you can settle for a lot less than 100% of the debt. Sometimes settling for 30% or less.

5

If the collection agency will not budge, then hang up and wait another 2 or 3 months. After about 9 or 10 months you can certainly negotiate a better price. The collection agency will threaten to take you to court, but they will not do it. It costs too much and they have no evidence other than a phone number and an amount outstanding.

6

Use a simple method if you are planning to buy a car or house within the next 5 years. Your credit rating will take a hit but not as much as the Go Thermonuclear method. If you decide to take this method rest assured that this is better than giving in at the start. This method ensures that the collection agency will want to take your offer.

7

Go Thermonuclear. If buying a car or house is not in the cards for the next 5 years then going Thermonuclear might have some appeal. As mentioned before the Statute of Limitations in Ontario Canada is 2 years, after that collection agencies have no legal recourse on you the debtor. All they can do is keep calling after that. Do not pay one red cent at all to the collection agency and they cannot come after you the debtor legally speaking.

Community Q&A

Perhaps you have receipts. If not, check hospital account statements for indications of payment. If you can't find any of these, ask the hospital for fresh copies. Also, your credit card statements may show hospital payments.

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Video

Tips

Collection agencies can be downright devious and usually call from "unknown" or "private" numbers to mask their phone numbers so you will be tricked into picking up the phone.

Collection agencies do not pay 100% for the debt but rather buy it at a discount of anywhere from say 75 to 90% of the total outstanding unsecured debt. Do not feel bad that as a debtor you are using these methods against the collection agencies.

Warnings

If as a debtor you choose Go Thermonuclear option, your credit rating is toast for the next 5 or so years. Just weigh carefully the two methods. If Go Thermonuclear appeals to you rest assured that you do not have to pay back that debt. Unless it is student loan or tax debt.